


Tradition Loves Company

by ZaccRiseC3P



Series: Hard to Find, Hard to Keep, Hard to Forget [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate universe - canon divergent, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Everyone is alive happy and enjoying Christmas together, F/F, Fluff, Found Family, Fun, M/M, Silly, That's it that's the plot, family traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZaccRiseC3P/pseuds/ZaccRiseC3P
Summary: The Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen Family has a lot to be grateful for this year, and they'll celebrate a successful year the way they do every year: with a Secret Santa gift exchange and the joy of waking up on Christmas morning.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Qrow Branwen/Ozpin, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Series: Hard to Find, Hard to Keep, Hard to Forget [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872730
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Christmas Eve

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone!!!! This story has been in the works for almost a month now and has been the main coping mechanism of choice for my brother and I as we deal with the effects of a COVID Christmas this year. Many of the traditions and ideas for this story came from Christmases in our past and we are very excited to share them with you! Warning: I was unable to properly edit this story this afternoon, but the motto of this fic is "We're not here for quality, we're here for cute!" We hope you enjoy reading as much as we enjoyed writing it.

“Alright, now that everyone’s here, who wants to go first?” Tai asked, staring at the group around him.

The low hum of conversation completely ceased at Tai’s question. No one wanted to volunteer. Eight pairs of eyes stared blankly at their host as Tai let out an amused sigh.

Oz, Qrow, Weiss, and Ruby sat on the couch in the living room of the Xiao Long-Rose house. The Branwen siblings- Oscar and Aaliyah- sat on the floor at their dads’ feet. Blake, on the other hand, had an armchair all to herself while Yang switched back and forth between sitting on the arm rest and standing next to it. 

Finally, with an eye roll that clearly meant “Someone’s gotta step up,” Yang laughed and announced, “I’ll go!” She grabbed the Christmas themed gift bag at her feet and walked across the room, stopping in front of her little cousin. The tall blonde held out the bag and exclaimed, “Merry Christmas, Aaliyah!”

Ali hesitated, craning her neck to look at her parents as if she was asking for permission.

“Go ahead, Angel. Open it,” Qrow encouraged.

A smile played at Ali’s lips as she started pulling the tissue paper out of the bag, letting it fall where it may without any regard for the cleaning process. As soon as Ali’s eyes landed on the first gift, the unusually large size of the bag became understandable. The smile on the girl’s face grew wider as she grabbed the gold and black basketball resting at the bottom of the bag. Ali dribbled it a few times before holding it again and hugging it to her chest. Before she could say thank you, Yang explained, “I figured if you really want to keep playing you’re gonna need something better than that cheap plastic one you still have.”

“Yeah, I can’t even dribble with that one anymore.”

“There’s one more thing in the bag,” Yang smiled, pointing at it.

“Really?”

The dark haired girl peaked her head into the bag again and immediately saw what Yang was referring to. She reached in and pulled out a matching black and gold basketball jersey. She held it out in front of her to look at the design. 

“Whoa!!!!!”

The jersey was black with gold lettering, the emblem of the kingdom she calls home emblazoned large on the front. Around the ring of the logo read the words “Beacon Basketball.” Ali was unable to stifle a laugh when she read it. A huntsman academy basketball team? Might be an idea she should discuss with her dad.

Ali added, “This is awesome!”

“Check the back.”

Ali quickly flipped it around to see that the name “Branwen-Cael” was printed on the back in the same gold lettering, along with the number 9. Her eyes went wide yet again.

“No way!” Ali looked at Oz and Qrow and explained, “It has our name on the back!”

“We saw,” Oz nodded.

Qrow turned to his niece, “How did you…?”

“Had to get it custom printed,” Yang answered immediately. “Seems like it was worth it, though.”

A reasonable assumption, seeing as Ali was already putting it on. The hard part was going to be getting her to take it off.

“What do you say, kiddo?”

Ali wrapped her cousin in a grateful hug as she said, “Thank you, Yang!!!”

“You’re welcome, Ali.”

The cousins let go and resumed their places in the room. When Ali sat down, a light tap hit her shoulder. She craned her neck to look at Oz as he smiled, “Now you have to give your gift.”

“Oh! That’s right!” the nine-year-old agreed. She stood up and disappeared behind the couch for a second before circling around and stopping in front of the youngest huntress ever to graduate from Beacon.

“Merry Christmas, Ruby!” Ali announced as she held out a woven red basket with green clear plastic wrapped around it.

“Oh my gosh, thank you, Ali!” Ruby squealed as she took the gift.

Setting it down on the end table next to her, Ruby started tearing the plastic off. Her eyes lit up like the lights on the Christmas tree when she saw what was inside. Cookies, brownies, and candies rested in green basket filling. Paper snowflakes and roses that Ali colored in herself were scattered in between the treats.

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Oh good, just what she needed. More sugar.”

A giggle escaped Ali’s lips. Ruby was still too distracted to respond to her wife’s quip. “This is perfect, thank you, Ali!” she finally answered.

“You’re welcome!”

Another hug between cousins ended the exchange. Ali returned to her seat and immediately started dribbling her new ball next to her. The repetitive sound of rubber bouncing on hardwood took about three seconds to drive Oz insane. He subtly asked her to stop. The child’s face fell into a frown, but she complied and the ball rested in her lap for the rest of the night.

Eagerly, Ruby announced, “Ok, my turn!”

The huntress simply bent down and picked up a thick, rectangular package wrapped in red paper with silver snowflakes adorning it. She dropped it into Weiss’ lap as she exclaimed, “Here you go, Weiss!”

“What? You got me?” the CEO questioned.

“Yeah! Obviously you’ll still get something from me tomorrow but… consider this a preview!”

“Alright...” Weiss said slowly as she started to rip the paper off.

What laid within the package was a pearl white photo album, embroidered with red roses and silver inlay lettering that read “The Story of the Schnee-Rose Family.”

“Wh-?” was the only sound Weiss could manage.

After a pause, Ruby explained, “It’s a scrapbook! Before the wedding you said you were really upset because you had almost zero photos of you and your family, remember? So we can start collecting photos of our family now!”

Still speechless, Weiss started flipping through the book. She was expecting it to be empty; it was not. The first few pages held a couple of photos from their time at Beacon, some from previous family gatherings with Weiss and Ruby’s families alike, and, on the most recent page, Weiss’ favorite photo from their wedding- the picture that was taken the moment they both said “I do.”

“Ruby, I- this is amazing. I don’t know what else to say. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome!” Ruby said before wrapping her arms around Weiss’ shoulders and placing a light kiss on her cheek. The whole room “awwwwww”ed at the sight. Weiss’ cheeks turned the color of Rudolph’s nose. In a desperate attempt to shift everyone’s focus away from her, Weiss abruptly said, “I guess that means it’s my turn.”

The huntress twisted in her seat to fish an envelope out of her pocket. She stretched out her hand and offered it to the young boy sitting on the floor a foot away from her.

“Merry Christmas, Oscar.”

“An envelope?” the eleven-year-old wondered, a tinge of disappointment evident in his voice.

“Don’t be rude, Oscar,” Oz chastised him. “Open it.”

The boy shrugged as he ripped open the seal. He unfolded the piece of paper that was inside and stared at it for a second while he tried to figure out what he was holding.

“What does it say, kiddo?” Qrow asked.

Realization sparked in Oscar’s eyes like fire works. He whipped around and asked without context, “Wait, seriously? You’ll pay for it and everything?”

“Yup!” Weiss answered, her head held high. “You’ll be training at Atlas Academy with some of the greatest fighters on Remnant!”

“No way!”

Oz cut in, “I beg your pardon?”

“Wait, let me see that,” Qrow said, not waiting for his son to agree before he snatched the paper. Oz leaned over his husband’s shoulder to read it himself.

“Oh dear.”

“Goddamnit…”

Just as they both feared, it was a note from Weiss explaining that she signed Oscar up for a Huntsmen Basics training camp for kids getting ready to enter the lower level academies in their kingdoms, open to anyone and everyone in Remnant- a summer camp that took place in Atlas.

“Weiss,” Oz sighed, “while we appreciate the gesture, we already told Oscar that we didn’t want him attending this specific program.”

Oscar objected, “But Weiss said she’d pay for it!”

“It’s not the price we’re worried about, son.”

“Then what _are_ you worried about?”

Oz hesitated. Was this really the right time to explain to Oscar that Atlas had a tendency to treat their students like military recruits? Was he about to explain to his eleven year old the dangers of a military state on Christmas Eve? Absolutely not. So what was he going to say?

Qrow had him covered. “We’re worried about what they might teach you.”

Oscar’s brow furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’re not going.”

“Why not?!”

“We’ve been over this. We don’t want you going all the way to Atlas for a week by yourself, it’s not happening.”

“What if he stays with us?” Weiss suggested suddenly.

“What?” Qrow asked.

“He doesn’t have to stay at the school by himself all week,” Weiss elaborated. “We can take him and make sure everything is ok.”

“Yeah! Can’t I just stay with them? Please, Dad?” 

Oscar was smart. He shot his question back at Oz, his wide hazel eyes sparkling with hope. It was a rare occurrence for Oz to say no to that look.

“We’ll think about it,” the headmaster finally sighed.

“Oz!” his husband objected.

Oscar’s arms shot up, a triumphant “Yes!!!!” emanating through the room.

His words sounded like a “maybe,” but the whole Branwen family knew that Oz really meant “yes, but I won’t say it out loud.”

“Thank you, Weiss!” Oscar said, now that he was officially able to accept it. He launched himself into Weiss’ arms and squeezed her tight.

Weiss laughed as she hugged him back. “You’re welcome, Oscar.”

As Oscar sat down, Weiss couldn’t help but notice the less than pleasant look on Qrow’s face. He didn’t look thrilled at the prospect of being overruled. A wave of guilt washed over the huntress as she realized that it technically started because of her gift. Oscar was more than preoccupied in his excitement, now sitting on the floor again, explaining the camp a little more to his sister who was clearly very jealous of her brother’s gift. Now seemed as good a time as any.

“I’m sorry, Uncle Qrow,” Weiss said quickly. “I guess I should have run this by you first… he just seemed really interested in it last time we saw him and I thought it would be a neat surprise…”

Qrow’s gaze shifted from Weiss to his son. This one simple gift looked like it made Oscar’s Christmas. Weiss may have gotten a little too ambitious, but she did have good intentions. A sigh fell from Qrow’s mouth as his expression softened.

“That’s alright, Ice Princess,” he said, a smile breaking through. He put a forgiving arm around his niece-in-law as he laughed, “Just promise me you’ll make sure Atlas doesn’t brainwash him.”

Weiss returned the laugh. “I think I can do that.”

“Good.”

Qrow gave her a little squeeze before letting go. It was only then that he realized that Oscar was holding up the gift exchange.

“Kiddo, it’s your turn,” Qrow whispered.

“Oh, yeah. Almost forgot!” the eleven-year-old admitted.

Oscar reached his hand under the couch (where he insisted on hiding his gift) and pulled out a small package wrapped in green wrapping paper with small Christmas trees printed on it. He picked himself up off the floor and walked over to the only Faunus in the room.

“Merry Christmas, Blake!” Oscar exclaimed with a little hop.

“Aw, thank you, Oscar!”

A soft smile played at Blake’s lips at the sight of the book cover that was revealed when she ripped the paper off.

“I hope you like it,” Oscar said.

“I love it,” Blake promised. “I can’t wait to read it. Thank you, Oscar.”

Oscar gave Blake a quick hug before returning to his seat on the floor. As Blake tucked the book next to her, she heard her girlfriend ask quietly, “Don’t you already have that book?”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t need to know that.”

Yang couldn’t stop a smile from growing on her face, too. It made her even more excited to see everyone’s reaction to Blake’s gift.

 _I made the right choice,_ Yang thought to herself.

Before Blake could give her gift, however, she caught Oz’s eye from across the room. It looked like he was trying to tell her something. He mimed the motion for opening a book and mouthed something: “Check the cover.” Ears perked and brow furrowed, Blake followed his instructions as chatter picked up around them to break the silence. What Blake found was a gift receipt with the words “Just in case” written on it. It was accompanied by a twenty lien bill. A back-up plan. Oz had thought ahead. The huntress mouthed “Thank you” back as her former headmaster threw her a wink.

Finally, Blake put the book away for good and picked up her own gift.

“Now it’s my turn,” she announced eagerly.

Around the room she went until she stopped in front of the host of the night’s activities.

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Xiao Long.”

With a smile on his face, Tai nodded as he accepted the gift. Blake took a step back, waiting for her future father-in-law to unwrap the small book she picked out for him.

Tai chuckled when he read the cover, lifting it up for the whole crowd to see.

Ruby quickly objected, “Blake, no! He does not need more ideas for terrible puns!”

Before anyone could stop him, Tai was already reading one of the jokes outloud. “When does a joke become a Dad Joke?”

Silence.

“When it becomes ‘Apparent’!”

A predictable groan rippled throughout the house. Blake was the only one who kept her groan to herself. She was just happy to see that Tai was amused- and he hadn’t even gotten his real gift yet.

“You missed the best joke,” Blake commented. “Check the first page.”

Tai’s eyebrow raised as he followed her instructions. “It’s a note from Blake. ‘I guess I’m gonna have to get used to these’?” Tai looked up. “I don’t get it.”

“There should be something underneath the note.”

Tai moved the note out of the way to reveal the ornately decorated cardstock underneath. A gasp escaped his lungs as he shifted his gaze to Yang.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he asked, a smile now plastered all over his face.

“We wanted it to be a surprise!” Yang answered.

Oscar voiced the question everyone wanted to ask. “Tell you what sooner?”

Barely able to choke out the words, Tai lifted the card as he said, “It’s their wedding invitation.”

Clapping and cheering filled the room as they all became aware of the news Yang and Blake had hidden within their gift.

When the noise died down, Qrow addressed the fact that there was a step they had never mentioned. “Wait, hold on, you two are _engaged_??????”

“And you didn’t tell us??????” Ali added.

Yang shrugged, “We’re telling you now!”

Qrow confronted his youngest niece. “Did you know about this?”

“Maaaaaaybe,” Ruby sang innocently.

Tai objected, “You told your sister but not me!”

“We had to coordinate with Ruby! We couldn’t have our weddings so close together!”

“My children schemed behind my back to hide their wedding plans from me…”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Dad!”

“Yeah, we weren’t scheming,” the younger sister agreed. “We were organizing.”

“I can’t believe this…” Tai sighed.

“Are you upset?” Blake hesitated.

“Of course not.” Tai insisted. He stood up and wrapped his future daughter-in-law in a grateful hug. “I’m so happy for you guys. Thank you, Blake. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

As the hug broke, Tai saw that his daughter had made her way across the room. He hugged her too, kissing the top of her head before adding with authority, “Don’t ever hide something this big from me again.”

“Alright, deal,” Yang conceded.

One more hug for both girls ended the interaction. Tai was still reeling from this revelation. He sat back down and shook his head, like a tired high school student shaking himself out of a daydream. Everyone was surprised that he hadn’t shed a tear yet. Judging from the scratchy sound of his throat being cleared, he was seconds away from releasing the waterworks. If it weren’t for his self-imposed subject changed, there was no doubt in everyone’s mind that the tears would have started flowing.

“Wow, I wasn’t ready for that,” Tai admitted, his voice a little strained. “On that note, I guess I’ll go.”

A light laugh rose from the group as Tai reached down, taking a seat as he grabbed the rectangular, inch-thick gift at his feet. “Merry Christmas, Oz.”

“Oh.”

The headmaster accepted the box with a gracious smile. His daughter- nosy as she was- stood up, leaving her ball on the floor, and leaned against his leg so she could see what he got. When Oz ripped the paper off and lifted the lid, he and Ali both laughed at the note they immediately saw resting on top. Oz read it aloud. “‘A box of good luck charms. Gods know you’ll need it.’”

Everyone laughed. Well, almost everyone. Qrow, on the other hand, did not appreciate being the bud of Tai’s latest joke. “You’ve gotta be f-freaking kidding me.”

Qrow rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He was lucky he corrected himself because every adult in the room was fully aware that he was not originally going to say “freaking.” That realization got a second laugh out of Oz.

The pun of the gift became even more apparent as Oz started pulling out the contents of the box: a little bag of four leaf clovers, a wood-carved lucky number seven, and a small enamel pin of a cute bunny rabbit. A smile played at Oz’s lips as he lifted the pin to get a better look. When his gaze shifted, he noticed that Qrow was still very unamused by the whole ordeal.

Taking the back clip off the pin, Oz clipped the bunny to his husband’s collar, saying, “Don’t worry, Qrow. You’re still the only charm I really need.” Adding a light kiss on the cheek, for good measure.

That did not help, and Oz knew it very well. Another round of “awwwwww”s filled the room, this time at Qrow’s expense.

“I hate you right now,” Qrow grunted, unable to hide the burning of his cheeks.

“And I’m ok with that,” Oz hummed. Absent-mindedly, he started putting everything back where he found it, ready to move on.

“Dad,” Ali stopped him. “I think you missed something.”

“What?”

The nine-year-old shifted the tissue paper and moved the items Oz had already replaced. Eventually, her search proved fruitful. “See!” she announced, now holding up a shiny silver picture frame. It held the “goofy” photo Tai had insisted they take at Ruby and Weiss’ wedding. Qrow, Oscar, Ali, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Blake, Tai, team JNPR, the other Schnee siblings, they were all there, laughing, smiling, their wedding attire worn haphazardly (the fact that it was taken at the very end of the night only adding to the “goofy” intention). Oz’s mouth hung open slightly as he took the photo from his daughter. He let out a small gasp of approval when he saw that the frame was engraved. “And the family grows…” it read.

“What is it?” Ruby asked.

“It’s just a family picture,” Tai shrugged.

Leaning over to see better, Weiss elaborated, “Oh, from our wedding!”

Ali nodded, “Now you have something to put on your desk at work, Dad!”

“Yeah, you know, like a normal person,” Oscar mumbled, laughing.

“Os-car,” Qrow half-heartedly reprimanded.

“What?”

“Thank you, Taiyang,” Oz finally managed, ignoring his family’s banter entirely.

“You’re welcome.”

Unable to forgive and forget, Qrow huffed, “I’m still pissed about the pun you chose for this one.”

Tai chuckled. Qrow’s anger fuels him.

“Well,” Oz prompted, “I imagine you’re about to be even more upset.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Merry Christmas, Qrow,” Oz responded, holding out a box wrapped in shiny, solid green paper.

“You’re kidding, right?”

From across the room, Yang cut in, “Should we invoke a ‘no spouse’ rule for next year?”

“Seems like we might have to,” Ruby agreed.

The sisters’ observation earned another laugh from the group.

Qrow begrudgingly took the gift from his husband and tore the paper off. He lifted the lid to the pure white box that was revealed and struggled to react to what he saw.

“What-?”

Lifting it by the sleeves, he pulled out a light grey pullover hoodie with dark grey sleeves. He laid it on his lap and ran his fingers over the embroidered bright red emblem of his own design that was sewn in the corner.

“I thought this might be more your style for the winter,” Oz explained.

Qrow only turned and raised an eyebrow.

Oz continued, “Because you refuse to wear a real jacket- as your son would say- ‘like a normal person.’”

Another light group laugh filled the room. Qrow scoffed as he stood up and pulled the new gift on over his clothes. He tugged on the sleeves and admired the fit. Maybe Oz was right. It was more his style... He wasn’t going to admit it, though.

“I’m not saying I’ll _never_ wear it…” he said instead.

“Is that your version of a ‘thank you’?”

“It’s the only version you’re getting.”

“I accept it.”

Qrow shook his head and finally gave in, letting out a light laugh.

 _There’s the smile I was looking for,_ Oz thought.

As he dropped his head, Qrow’s eyes landed on the only unopened present left in the room. He sighed as he bent down to pick it up. “Guess there’s only one thing left to do.”

He turned around and sauntered over to the blond who began the night’s festivities.

“Merry Christmas, Firecracker.”

A smile spread across Yang’s face as she took the gift and sat on the floor- it was just a little too big to open without laying it down somewhere. The wrapping paper ripped and flew in all directions as Yang made opening the gift as dramatic as possible. Yet another pure white box was hidden within the wrappings. As she lifted the lid, her eyes went wide with excitement.

The box contained a bright yellow gi with the words “Sensai Xiao Long” embroidered in black thread in the corner. 

As his niece lifted the gift out of the box to get a better look, Qrow explained, “If you’re gonna start your own martial arts school, you’re gonna have to dress the part.”

The school was a new development for Yang and her fiance. They recently decided that being full-time huntresses didn’t quite fit their latest vision of settling down and starting a family in Vale. But they had to pay the bills somehow. In between going on the occasional huntress mission, Yang was starting to organize her own martial arts school. She already had a building leased in the middle of the city, and she was just about ready to start advertising and getting kids enrolled. There was, however, one more piece of the business she had to sort out first.

Ruby suddenly exclaimed, “Whoa! Yang, I didn’t know you decided on a logo already.”

“What? I haven’t-”

Emphasis on "was."

Yang quickly flipped the gi around to see what her sister was referring to. Sure enough, on the back was a large emblem of two dragons flying around each other in a yin-yang shape. The dragon on the right was gold with lilac eyes, while the one on the left was black with shining gold eyes. Circling the logo were the words “Golden Dragon Dojo.”

“Wait, I- This logo is perfect. How did you-?”

“I know a guy,” Qrow answered shortly. “And the logo is yours if you want it.”

“Really?”

A cocky smirk accompanied a single nod “yes.”

As she popped up off the ground and wrapped her uncle in a hug, Yang exclaimed, “Oh my gods, yes! That would be awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“You’re welcome, Yang. I’m glad you like it.”

With the gift exchange finally hitting it’s natural stopping point, the night continued. Everyone dispersed from the living room, going about their own thing, enjoying the simple pleasure of being together on Christmas Eve.

Yang joined her little cousin on the floor and started trying to teach Ali how to keep a basketball spinning on her finger. The result was less than pretty, but they had fun trying.

Oscar jumped up on the couch and started explaining to Weiss and Qrow a little more about the camp Weiss had signed him up for (which he looked up on his scroll as soon as he got the chance). The more he talked, the more excited Oscar became, and the more excited Oscar became, the more Qrow forgave Weiss for her well-intentioned gift.

Laughter, chatter, and joy continued to fill the house for the rest of the night. The time-honored tradition of gathering as a family on Christmas Eve now complete, the Branwens and the Xiao Long-Rose’s went their separate ways at about ten thirty, in anticipation for the traditions that awaited them in the morning- as well as the traditions still left to celebrate before they finally said “goodnight.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The Branwens ended up staying at the Xiao Long-Rose’s for longer than anticipated. In fact, they didn’t walk through the door of their own home until about eleven in the evening- well past the children’s regular bedtime. However, their Christmas Eve wasn’t over just yet, and the little ones knew it.

As soon as the door swung open, the kids raced into the house, pushing and shoving each other as they climbed the stairs with heavy footsteps. They only made it halfway up when they heard their father ask, “And where do you two think you’re going?” The siblings turned around to see pale red irises staring up at them, an amused twinkle in his eyes to match the teasing tone he used to call after them.

“To put on our pjs!” Oscar answered shortly.

“Yeah, so we can open our Christmas Eve gift!” his younger sister elaborated.

“Oh you think you’re opening another gift tonight?”

“We do it every year…” Oscar added, his voice faltering at the implication.

Ali filled in the blank. “Are we not doing it this year…?”

“Your father is just joking around,” Oz quickly assured them. “Of course you’ll get to open an early gift tonight. Go get changed.”

Their smiles returned as they continued their journey up the stairs as if it had never been interrupted. When they disappeared into the hallway, Oz turned to his husband and shook his head, “Honestly, darling, why must you torture them?”

“I was just having a little fun,” Qrow shrugged.

Oz let out a chuckle before brushing passed Qrow and following the children to the second floor. Qrow laughed as he followed suit.

A quick change of clothes later, the parents came downstairs in their own sleepwear to find the kids lurking around the tree. Oscar was wearing his usual orange pajama pants and oversized Beacon sweatshirt- he wore that thing everywhere. Ali, on the other hand, was still wearing the jersey she got from Yang earlier in the evening. She had simply replaced the jeans she had worn with the sky blue cloud-themed pj pants she loved so much. Oz laughed to himself, Well, she’ll have to take it off eventually.

Ali knelt under the tree and pointed at the two gifts in front. “I bet it’s these two.”

“No, those are too big,” Oscar noticed. “I think they’ll let us open these.”

Qrow joined the kids on the floor, his voice fluctuating as he reached around the tree and said, “You’re both wrong.” He pulled out two identical presents and got himself out from under the tree. “It’s these two. Here, Ali, that one’s yours. And here’s Oscar’s.”

Both kids giggled as they raced over and knelt down at the coffee table, ready to open their early gifts. They already had an idea of what they were getting. After all, it was the same thing every year.

They were just about to rip open the packages when they heard Oz’s voice say, “Ah, no. Wait for your father.” Neither child had even noticed that Qrow had disappeared into the kitchen. 

Putting the box down to avoid temptation, Oscar conceded, “Fine.”

Oz took a seat on the couch and the three waited. After a moment, the youngest child grew impatient.

“Dad! Hurry up!” she complained.

Joining his family in the living room, Qrow made his entrance thirty seconds later with two mugs in his hands- coffee for himself and cocoa for his husband. He made his way around the couch and handed the second cup to Oz as he took a seat next to him. As Qrow turned to lie down, pressing into Oz’s side a little more to get comfortable, it came to Oz’s attention that Qrow absolutely put the hoodie back on after getting changed.

 _I can’t say I’m surprised,_ the professor thought, but he didn’t dare acknowledge it aloud. Instead, he put his arm around his husband and held him close.

“Alright, I’m here,” Qrow grunted after settling down. “Go ahead.”

As soon as they got the green light, the siblings tore into their gifts. It came as no surprise to the kids when they saw that they each got a small lego set to build on this winter evening. From the box, it looked like Oscar would be tasked with building an Atlesian airship while his sister got a bionic Beowulf figure.

Watching the kids become so content and excited about such a simple thing brought a bright smile to Oz’s face. It was a little moment he only wished could last just a bit longer. Hell, if he got to spend his immortality with a family that loved him this much, it wouldn’t be such a burden. Unfortunately, that wasn’t hand he had been dealt. But he was determined to enjoy the little things while they lasted- even if they didn’t last very long.

“Finished!” the older child announced.

“What? Already? How?!”

“It’s not hard,” Oscar shrugged. “You’re just slow.”

“ _Os-car._ ”

Oz’s smile held true even as he stared down his son for insulting Ali. The boy matched his father’s gaze and laughed, knowing he had been caught in the act. For a moment, the two had a staring contest, until Oscar conceded, looking away as he stood up and started running around the room, his new toy in hand as he lifted it above his head, all the while making swooshing sounds and propeller noises with his mouth.

 _To be as carefree as a child on Christmas,_ Oz laughed to himself.

A minute later, Ali triumphantly held up the bionic Beowulf toy and announced, “Done!”

“Hey, look at that,” Qrow said. “That’s actually cool.”

Ali walked around the coffee table and climbed up onto the couch- and, consequently, Qrow.

“Careful, kiddo,” Qrow laughed as his daughter carelessly situated herself on his lap.

The nine-year-old also became immediately infatuated with her new toy, moving it’s limbs to mimic the action of attacking a group of people and making it climb around the couch cushions.

“Roooaaarrrrr!!!!!!”

Qrow started helping her by trying to teach her what a real Beowulf sounded like. The two of them going back and forth making animal-like growling noises was a sight to see, bringing a smile to Oz’s face that was so big it made his cheeks hurt.

The only thing that pulled his attention away from their antics was the orange blur that ran past him every fifteen seconds. As Oscar rushed around, running in front of Oz for the fourth time in one minute, the headmaster reached out and grabbed his son by the waist, wrapping him in a hug and pulling him onto his lap. The eleven-year-old was so enthralled with his toy that he didn’t even object to his flight path being redirected. He now sat on the couch with the rest of his family, toy still in the air, flipping and twisting it while giving orders like he was the pilot in the small, plastic cockpit. After a moment, Oz gave Oscar a little squeeze as he asked, “Did you two have a good Christmas Eve?”

With an enthusiastic nod, both kids shouted, “Yeah!”

Ali added, “Today was awesome!”

“And the holiday isn’t even over yet,” Qrow reminded them.

The family of four spent the next hour talking about what the kids wanted to do tomorrow and what they hoped to get in the morning. Luckily for Qrow and Oz, the little ones didn’t list anything they weren’t prepared to hear. “Santa” came through for the kids this year.

As the minutes faded away, it was clear that Ali was dozing off. Somehow, she shifted from sitting on Qrow’s lap to falling asleep while laying on his chest. However, the three boys were all still awake, until about midnight when Oz felt Oscar’s weight go limp. The older child was starting to get tired, too. 

A few peaceful seconds passed as the kids succumbed to their exhaustion. It was only then that it hit Oz how tired he was himself. Qrow was fading in and out, too. When the immortal announced that it was time for bed, no one complained. In fact, Ali didn’t move, and Oscar only vaguely stirred.

_I’d call this a successful Christmas Eve._

Oz gently picked Oscar up and put him on his hip. Qrow followed his lead, getting up slowly and simply putting his arm under Ali to support her as he stood up straight. The parents made their way upstairs, heading into their respective child’s room. Oz didn’t even bother to turn on the lights as he walked into Oscar’s room. As carefully as possible, he laid Oscar on his bed and pulled the covers over him. Before he left, he lightly caressed Oscar’s face and kissed him on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Oscar,” he whispered.

“Merry Christmas, Dad.” The boy’s voice was sleepy and weak, but Oz heard the holiday greeting, clear as day.

As silently as he entered, Oz made his exit, closing the door behind him as softly as possible. The image of Oscar sleeping slowly vanished behind the door, Oz realized that there are still a couple of traditions left for them to celebrate this year. And he was fully aware that those traditions would start as they do every year- with the kids waking him up at the crack of dawn on Christmas Day.


	2. Christmas Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas morning! And everyone is feeling the Christmas Spirit!

“It’s Christmas!!!!!!”

Seeing as he was already awake, Oz wasn’t at all surprised to hear the kids come rushing into their parents’ bedroom, shouting with glee, ready to get the day’s activities started at six o’clock sharp. He was not, however, prepared for them to jump onto the bed and shake him awake when he didn’t stir. A laugh rose his chest as he rolled over and trapped them both in a hug. Both kids giggled as Oscar tried to wriggle free. When he noticed that Qrow hadn’t moved, Oscar attempted to change that. 

“Dad! It’s-”

“Oscar, no!” Oz stopped him. “Let your father sleep.”

“But… it’s Christmas!” the child repeated.

Oz stifled a laugh, “I know, but he didn’t sleep well last night. Why don’t you two head downstairs. I’ll meet you there, alright?”

“And we can open our stockings?” Ali asked.

“Yes, of course.”

“Yay!” the kids shouted.

The siblings scrambled off the bed and raced out of the room, leaving their father in the dust. Another small laugh escaped Oz’s lips as he sat on the edge of the bed for a second. He turned around and looked back, seeing Qrow still hadn’t moved an inch. But he knew it was a facade. Even Qrow couldn’t have slept through the noise the kids made.

The headmaster stood up and circled around to his partner’s side of the bed. He knelt down so that Qrow was at his eye level and he smiled, “I believe I can keep the children occupied for an extra hour.” Sealing the promise with a light, lingering kiss on the cheek before whispering, “Sleep well, my little crow.”

A smile crept onto Qrow’s face and Oz knew that he was right. The bird was awake; but he was absolutely not getting up just yet. After a moment, Oz stood up and sauntered downstairs. The kids were sitting on the stools at the kitchen counter practically shaking with excitement, (im)patiently waiting for their father. As Oz turned the corner into the kitchen, his eye caught the big golden number nine and the name “Branwen-Cael” on Ali’s back. 

_She still refuses to take that thing off,_ Oz laughed to himself. _We’ll have to tell Yang._

However, there was something wrong with this picture- the children hadn’t yet opened their stockings. Oz’s gaze shifted to the four matching red stockings hanging from the railing of the stairs. “And here I expected you two to have ripped these open by now,” he joked.

The kids twisted in their seats to face him as Oscar exclaimed, “We guessed you’d want us to wait for you!”

Ali giggled, “Plus Oscar tried and he couldn’t untie them himself.”

“That’s not true!”

“Mhm, I see,” Oz nodded as he untied the only two stockings that actually hid gifts within them. Each child received their respective gift before Oz turned around and started making his usual morning cup of cocoa.

The youngest child looked up from the mystery in front of her, if only for a second, and immediately asked, “Oh! Can we have some, too?”

Oz gave her a side-eye as he stirred his drink, “At six thirty in the morning?”

“It’s Christmas!” Oscar repeated once again, as if it was justification. “Who cares what time it is?”

“Yeah!”

“I see,” Oz nodded. “So time ceases to matter on days of celebration?”

“Basically!” Ali confirmed.

“Everyone knows that,” Oscar agreed.

“Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt, just this once.”

“Yes!!” the kids cheered.

Oz shook his head and smiled as he went to prepare two more cups of cocoa. As he did, the kids started ripping into their first gifts. They pulled out several bags of candy and a pair of winter socks (which they ignored). Finally, they both found what they were digging for, which of course, ended up being at the very bottom.

“Wait…” Oscar hesitated. “I don’t recognize this one.”

“I got the second book!” Ali announced triumphantly, holding up her gift. 

Oz set down two, freshly hot mugs on the counter as he suggested, “Check the spine, Oscar.”

Following his father’s directive, Oscar realized, “Oh! This is the third one!”

“Is that the whole series?” Ali asked.

“No,” Oscar answered, “there’s five.”

“Darn it! That’s a lot. I really have to finish the first one.”

Oz said, “Why don’t you run upstairs and get it? You two can read while we wait for your father to wake up.”

“Good idea!”

The little one hopped off her stool and bolted upstairs, clearly forgetting that one member of the family was still asleep. Her footsteps weren’t exactly light and quiet.

Meanwhile, the older child reached across the counter and snagged the book that his sister had left sitting there. Since he was almost a whole book ahead of Ali, Oscar would be reading her gift first. The eleven-year-old then proceeded to grab his hot cocoa with his free hand and slide carefully off the stool before heading into the living room. Oz followed close behind. As soon as Oz took his seat on the couch, Oscar cuddled up next to him- almost like it was second nature. After Oscar got comfortable, Ali came rushing down the stairs, right on cue. Immediately, she ran to the couch and jumped up, squeezing herself between her father and the armrest. A grateful smile rested on Oz’s lips as he wrapped an arm around each of his kids.

Wow.

Talk about something Oz never thought he would get to do. Spending Christmas morning with his own kids, waiting for his spouse to wake up? It seemed so _normal_ , like a daydream he would soon be forcibly shaken out of. “Normal” wasn’t really something Oz expected to be after all these years. And yet, here he was, presented with an opportunity to feel sane. To feel comfortable. To feel at home.

For a while, Oz simply reveled in the feeling of “normal.” The only thing that could be heard was the turning of pages and the occasional small reaction to the words written on them. Each small reaction was met with a light squeeze from Oz- his natural response to knowing that the kids were so invested in the stories they were discovering.  
Thirty minutes passed this way, and finally, Ali and Oscar both reacted when they heard the slightest movement from upstairs.

“Dad’s awake!” Oscar announced, his attention ripped away from his book with ease.

It was like the power of Christmas had enhanced the children’s ability to hear. 

Seconds later, Qrow came, dragging himself downstairs, clearly still a little groggy. The avian man was awake but he wasn’t aware.

As the kids jumped up to greet their father, the gray hoodie Qrow was wearing caught Oz’s attention.

 _Would you look at that,_ Oz laughed to himself. _He’s still wearing it._

A smile grew on the headmaster’s face as he stood up and disappeared into the kitchen. Even while in the other room, Oz could hear the kids clamoring in their excitement as he started making Qrow a cup of coffee.

“I want to open this one first,” Ali announced.

“Something tells me that’s not an option,” Qrow said.

“Why not?”

“Because this one has Oscar’s name on it, pipsqueak.”

Oscar jumped in, “Oh! I’ll take it!”

“Oh… whoops,” Ali laughed.

“Here, Angel. Take this one first.”

“Okay!”

Barely a second later, Oz heard Oscar shout, “Dad! We’re ready!”

Perfect timing. The immortal emerged into the living room once again to find the kids sitting next to the tree, their gifts sitting in their laps. Qrow was already sitting on the couch, looking almost just as eager as the kids to get the morning started.

“Here you are, my love,” Oz said as he handed Qrow the hot mug. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Oz,” Qrow echoed, taking the drink and giving his husband a quick kiss.

“Can I open the first gift now?” Oscar asked.

As Oz resumed his seat on the couch, he answered, “Yes, you may.”

Beginning the morning’s festivities, Oscar ripped into his first gift. It was a small action figure of the hero from his (current) favorite book series. Oz could have sworn the smile on his face doubled in size when he realized what he was holding. Next Ali went. Her first gift was the same concept, different character.

Back and forth the siblings went, their gifts getting more complex (and expensive) as they progressed. By the time they were done, the living room was full of random toys and discarded wrapping paper. Qrow forced the kids to clean up before they were allowed to actually play with anything. When clean up was finished, Oz headed into the kitchen, ready to start the preparations for their regular Christmas breakfast. In their excitement, the kids grabbed the closest toy and headed into the kitchen with him. Again, they sat on the stools at the counter and watched as Oz prepped everything. He couldn’t wait for the day they would be old enough to take over this particular responsibility. Of course, Qrow wasn’t much help either. Everything he touched had about a fifty percent chance of lighting on fire- and he didn’t have his semblance to blame for that one.

But that didn’t mean Oz hated this part of the morning, on the contrary. The headmaster would cook while he listened to his family’s banter. Qrow would tease the kids and ask them what their favorite gift of the morning was. Or he would ask them about the toy they had in their hand, pretending not to understand it so that he could hear them describe it in their child-like wonder. Suddenly, Ali got an idea.

“Oh! Dad! Take a picture of us with everything so we can send it to Ruby and Yang!”

“Really?” Qrow laughed. The two of them had never really embraced picture taking.

“Yeah! We promised them we would last night!”

“Alright,” Qrow agreed, a crooked smile breaking through.

Without being asked, the kids raced into the other room and posed in front of the tree.

 _If only they would follow instructions that easily all the time,_ Oz laughed.

The click of the scroll camera went off, and a few seconds later Qrow announced, “Aaaaand… sent.”

~~~~~~~~~~

_Ding!_

Yang quickly checked the notification that appeared at the top of her scroll screen.

> Unlucky Bird Uncle: [photo attachment] Ali hasn’t taken off that jersey yet. Merry Christmas, kiddo.

“Awww, so cute!”

“What?” Blake asked.

“Uncle Qrow just sent me this,” Yang explained, flipping her scroll so Blake could see.

The couple was sitting on the couch, facing each other, their legs intertwined as they waited for Ruby and Weiss to wake up. Blake grabbed the device, careful not to spill the tea in her other hand. When she saw the photo of her fiance’s little cousins, standing in front of the Christmas tree, surrounded by toys, huge smiles plastered all over their faces, Blake couldn’t help but coo, “Awww! Looks like they’re having a great Christmas.”

“I’ll say,” Yang agreed. “Uncle Qrow also mentioned that they woke up at six because they were so excited,” she added, referring to the first text she had received from her uncle that morning.

“What I wouldn’t give to be a nine year old waking up on Christmas morning,” Blake reminisced.

“Simpler times.”

“That’s an understatement,” the Faunus smirked as she took a sip of her tea.

Suddenly, a red blur came barreling down the stairs, and when it reached the bottom of the steps, it took the shape of Ruby. The red petals still dissipating from the casual use of her semblance, Ruby turned around and shouted up the stairs, “Come on, Weiss! Hurry up!”

A few seconds later, Weiss trudged slowly down the stairs, looking less than enthused by the prospect of getting up at eight o’clock in the morning on a holiday.

“Well, well, well,” Yang taunted. “Nice of you two to finally wake up.”

“More like nice of _Weiss_ to wake up,” Ruby clarified. “I’ve been awake since five!”

Yang lowered her voice so only Blake could hear her say, “Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be a Ruby waking up on Christmas morning.”

Blake’s face scrunched up as she stifled a laugh. Her fiance could be actually funny, on occasion.

Without a word exchanged between them, Ruby, Yang, and- just by following their lead- Blake all sat down on the floor around the tree.

“What are you all doing?” Weiss demanded while crossing her arms.

“We’re gonna open our presents!” Ruby explained. “Come sit with us, Weiss!”

“Do we have to sit on the floor to do that????”

“It’s Christmas morning, Weiss!” Yang said. “Don’t be such a Grinch!”

With her arms stretched out and her hands grabbing in the general direction of her wife, Ruby said one more time, “Sit with uuuuuuussssss!” An eye roll preceded Weiss’ surrender. Finally, she gave in and sat on the floor next to Ruby, who immediately threw her arms around her and rested her head on Weiss’ shoulder. The huntress certainly wasn’t going to complain about it.

Right on time, Tai walked into the room with a cup of coffee in his hand. He had just stepped out to get a fresh cup. Now that everyone was present, they were ready to begin.

As Tai took his seat on the couch, he couldn’t help but laugh, “I didn’t expect you girls to be sitting on the floor this year.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Ruby questioned. “This is how we do it every year!”

“Yeah! There’s no age limit on tradition!” the older sister agreed.

Again, Tai laughed, “Alright, if you say so.”

Immediately, Ruby turned to Yang and asked, “Sibling presents first?”

“Sure!”

For the time being, Weiss and Blake just sat back, happy to watch their SO’s exchange family gifts first. 

Yang grabbed a tiny cube shaped package from under the tree and handed it to her sister. Ruby handed Yang a festive-looking red and gold envelope. Ruby went first, ripping hers open with no preamble. Inside was a square jewelry box, which earned a delighted gasp when the lid was flicked open.

“Yaaaaang!” Ruby sang with delight. “Oh my gosh, this is adorable!!!!!”

The huntress plucked the gift out of the box to show off. It was a small, square wooden canvas with a painted picture of the house they were currently sitting in on it. The sky was blue, the tree in their front yard was bright green as if it were the middle of summer, and a tiny Zwei was even painted sitting on the front lawn!

Yang explained, “I wanted you to have a little piece of home now that you live in Atlas!”

“You’re so cheesy.”

“I am.”

Other than the wedding, the move to Atlas was the biggest thing that had happened to the Schnee-Rose’s that year. Because of certain legal proceedings leading to Weiss’ father’s arrest, Weiss had inherited the position of CEO of the Schnee Dust Company just weeks before she proposed. It gave her many benefits, including being able to spend a fortune on making sure the wedding was perfect, while also allowing her to not stress about the price.

However, the state of the company was much worse than Weiss could have imagined. There was so much work to be done, it didn’t make sense for the two of them to stay in Vale while the company was mostly situated in the kingdom of Atlas. Of course, Weiss seemed just as done with the culture of Atlas as Ruby was, so they decided to compromise. They would only stay in Atlas for as long as it would take from Weiss to get a completely new SDC headquarters up and running in the kingdom of Vale. The plans were already being crafted, but there was a lot of work to be done before they’d be able to move back to Ruby’s hometown.

It felt weird for Ruby to leave home so suddenly. After all, it was the first time she was away from her sister for longer than a couple weeks.

Ruby laughed, “I guess we both had similar ideas, then, huh?”

Yang wasn’t sure what Ruby meant because she hadn’t opened her gift yet. When she ripped open the envelope and saw what was inside, the joke did not really become clearer.

“Plane tickets?”

“They’re not real,” Weiss said quickly.

“Read what they say!” Ruby insisted.

Yang read, “‘You have been cordially invited to the Schnee-Rose Manor. Date and time is up to you! All expenses paid. This offer stands always and forever.’ Awwwwwww!”

Blake offered a weak, hesitant laugh in response. “You guys don’t have to do that, you know, we-”

“Blake. It’s a gift and we are not taking it back,” Ruby asserted.

Blake rolled her eyes with a spark of affection in her eyes. “Ok, fine. Thank you, Ruby.”

“You’re welcome!” Ruby said as she wrapped her sister and future sister-in-law in a hug.

As they separated and Ruby returned to her spot on the floor, Yang asked, “Couple’s gifts now?”

“Yes!”

Around the tree they all went, picking up the gift they got for their significant other. When they all settled down, Weiss announced abruptly, “I’ll go first!”

As she started to hand Ruby her gift, Yang vehemently objected, “What? No! I want Blake to open hers first!”

“But _I_ want to see the look on Weiss’ face when she opens mine!”

The three adults- correction: children- started bickering and talking over each other, unable to decide how to solve this simple problem. Tai let it go on for a few minutes, finding it weirdly comforting that sometimes, certain things don’t change.

 _Including fighting over who gets to open what on Christmas day,_ the single father thought.

Finally, he had to break it up, and he knew that he could with a simple, tried and true rule for gift giving.

“Girls. Girls! Calm down, you’ll all get to go eventually,” he reminded them. “Did you forget how we settle this every year?”

“Oh, yeah…” Yang sighed as she realized what he meant.

Weiss asked, “How do you guys do it?”

Ruby’s eyes lit up. “Youngest opens first!”

“Youngest _opens_ first?” Weiss repeated, trying to figure out what that meant. When she pieced together the fact that her wife got to open first she gleefully said, “Oh! Perfect! Here you go, Ruby!”

“Yeeeee!”

Weiss handed Ruby yet another tiny jewelry box, although Ruby didn’t seem to notice the identical shape. She ripped it open and let out another pleased gasp when she saw the necklace that rested inside.

“I hope you like it,” Weiss said. “I tried to find something with a simple design.”

“I absolutely love it, Weiss.”

The silver rose charm glistened back at her, the beautiful red and white gemstones sparkling in the light of the tree. For a few silent moments, Ruby could only admire how pretty it was until it dawned on her. Those small red and white gems looked awfully _real_.

“Wait, are these- Weiss… how much did you spend on this?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“You totally went over our budget!”

“I said don’t worry about it. Here…”

Weiss took the necklace from her wife’s hand and carefully put it around Ruby’s neck. Seeing it hanging around her neck, Ruby can’t help but fidget with it.

 _I mean_ it _is gorgeous,_ Ruby thought. _And Weiss already bought it, but…_

“See? It looks great on you!”

“It really does,” Blake agreed.

“I- I never said it _didn’t_ I just-”

“Ruby,” Weiss asserted. “It’s a gift. And I’m not taking it back.”

“I knew that was gonna come back to bite me…”

“You’re welcome, honey,” Weiss chirped as she kissed her wife on the cheek. Finally, now a blushing mess, Ruby conceded.

“Love you, too, Weiss.”

A smile spread across Weiss’ face. Ruby loved the gift, she was upset about the price. That was Weiss’ gift-giving Sweet Spot.

“Yang is next, so I’ll go,” Blake explained while handing her fiance her gift. 

“Another envelope! Exciting,” Yang exclaimed.

A group laugh rippled out as Yang tore open the envelope. Again, she pulled out the piece of paper and read it- but this time only to herself. Before she could tell everyone else what it was, she had her head in her hands. She laughed, “Oh no…”

“What’s wrong?” Blake frowned.

“I- We- I can’t- Here, open yours,” Yang gave up on explaining, instead she offered a very similar looking envelope.

“Well, it’s Weiss’ turn, based on the age thing…”

“No, it’s ok,” Weiss agreed. “I want to see what Yang’s problem is.”

Hesitantly, Blake took the envelope. This was not the reaction she was expecting from the gift. The lack of enthusiasm told her everything she needed to know.

“No…” Blake gasped, “you didn’t…”

“I did…”

“Did what???” Ruby asked.

As Blake ripped open her envelope, Yang began, “So, our new apartment has a spare bedroom in it…”

Blake continued, “And we haven’t quite figured out what to do with the space yet.”

“Blake wanted to make it into a nice home library. A quiet place for her to read and get away.”

“Yang wanted to make it into a home dojo so she could train and workout to let off some steam.”

Weiss nodded, “I think I see where this is going.”

“So Blake’s gift to me…” Yang prompted, dropping her head as she lifted up a piece of paper that read, “The room is yours. We’ll make it a dojo.”

“Aaaaaaand Yang’s gift to me…” Blake raised a similar looking paper which read, “You deserve some peace and quiet. The room is yours!”

Ruby squealed, “Awwwwww, that’s so cute!”

“Great minds think alike?” Weiss shrugged, trying to look on the bright side.

“This is not what I had in mind…” Blake said with a disheartened laugh.

“That makes two of us,” Yang nodded. “I didn’t think this would make our decision _harder_.”

“We can… we can figure it out later.”

“Yeah, we’ll figure it out…”

“I appreciate the thought.”

“Me too.”

“Merry Christmas, Yang.”

“Merry Christmas, Blake.”

Ruby let out another loud “awwwwww” when Yang and Blake traded a quick kiss. She couldn’t help it. Her sister was so cute.

“Oh my gods, there’s still one more gift to give!” Ruby realized suddenly.

She handed Weiss a rectangular package as she proclaimed, “Your second gift of the holiday, my wife!”

“Oh yeah!” Weiss cheered, clearly also having completely forgotten that her turn had technically been skipped. The drama was enough to make her forget what they were doing.

When Weiss saw what was in the box her wife had given her, she could only shake her head and smile. “Oh dear lords,” she sighed fondly.

“Um. What… is that?” Tai asked in shock.

Weiss lifted the gift out of the box to show her father-in-law. It was a small, infant-sized crimson red baby onesie with white text that read “I’m queen of the castle!”

Before Ruby offered a real answer, she blurted out, “I know the papers haven’t technically gone through yet but I’m just so excited and I know you are too!”

“Papers for what?” Tai pressed more.

“Ruby…” Weiss knew why he was so confused.

“Oh crap…”

 _She forgot to tell him,_ Weiss thought.

“What did you forget to tell me this time?”

“You, uh-” Ruby stuttered, “you’re gonna have a granddaughter soon…”

“ _What_????” Yang gasped.

Tai choked, “You mean...”

“We’re having a baby!”

“We’re _adopting_ a baby, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Three pairs of eyes went wide at the same time as gasps of excitement filled the air.

Apparently, Tai wasn’t the only person Ruby forgot to tell.

“You’re- I’m gonna be- I-”

“Way to go, Rubes, you broke Dad.”

“How could you forget to tell me something like this!” Tai finally managed.

“I don’t know! It never came up!”

“Never- what- you- Ok, new rule!” Tai announced, making sure his daughters knew he was not joking. “No more telling me about important life events through gifts! From now on you two actually have to _tell me_ these things.”

The girls promised, “Deal!”

From there, Christmas morning continued. Every member of Team RWBY gave Tai a gift. In return, Tai got very sentimental, realizing that his daughters and the two girls he had grown to love like his own kids were leaving him again, ready to spread their wings and leave the nest for good. Of course he was going to miss them, but he knew it was for the best. They had to leave the nest at some point, and they’re family and traditions would continue to evolve. 

Who knows. Maybe next year they’ll have to create some new traditions.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Reminder:** the best way to stay updated with this AU is to follow me on Tumblr [@zacs-of-rwby](https://zacs-of-rwby.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> There may or may not be a late Christmas Night chapter being worked on...
> 
> In the meantime, have a happy, healthy holiday, everyone! 🎄💚❤️


End file.
